Be Authentic but Stretch Yourself: Interview with Author Dr. Cindy McGovern
I recently went one on one with Dr. Cindy McGovern, author of the new book Sell Yourself.
Adam: How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Cindy: My journey to writing a book about personal branding started years ago when I was in graduate school. As I was about to defend my dissertation, I realized that some of the people I was working with perceived me in a much different way than I perceived myself. It was sort of an “aha” moment for me when I realized I was assuming that I was making one impression on people, but some of them were assuming something completely different about me. The problem was that I had never taken the time to create a personal brand that would help me sell myself to others in a way that would lead them to believe the same things about me that I believed about myself.
The solution was for me to create a thoughtful, authentic personal brand that I could live day in and day out and that would help me sell myself to others. It helped me take control of my own story and my own reputation.
Ever since then—long before I became an author—I have encouraged others to do the same.
I went from graduate school into teaching communications at a community college. Later, I joined a consulting firm that worked with corporate clients. After I had been there for a while, my boss suggested that I would be a good fit for an opening in the company’s sales department. I said, “No way!”
But he convinced me to give it a try, and, to my surprise, I fell in love with sales. A few years later, I opened my own consulting firm, Orange Leaf Consulting. Most of my work involves coaching leaders and managers in how they can grow their businesses by strengthening their sales efforts. Many of those businesses hire me to coach staff members who are not in sales positions. My belief is that every job is a sales job, even if that’s not what your business card says. So I teach employees how their attitudes and behavior with customers and the public can “sell” others on patronizing those businesses—or the opposite.
That work led me to write my first book, Every Job Is a Sales Job: How to Use the Art of Selling to Win at Work (McGraw Hill, 2019). Shortly afterward, I responded to requests from clients and audiences for a book on personal branding with Sell Yourself: How to Create, Live and Sell a Powerful Personal Brand (McGraw Hill, 2022).
Adam: What do you hope readers will take away from your new book?
Cindy: I hope everyone who reads Sell Yourself will benefit from three key messages:
1. Everyone has a personal brand, even if they have never chosen one. A personal brand is how you present yourself to the world. If you haven’t decided how you want to and need to present yourself in order to reach your goals, that doesn’t mean you’re not presenting yourself. Without a deliberate brand, you’re leaving the impression you make on others—to others. They will assume by the way you behave, speak and react to them what your personal brand is. It’s far better to thoughtfully create a personal brand, live that brand every day and use it to sell yourself to others who can help you achieve your goals.
2. Simply creating a brand—whether it’s just a few buzzwords or it’s thoughtful and comprehensive—won’t do much to help you sell yourself. Once you have decided on your perfect personal brand, you need to live it—every single day—without compromise. Only if you reliably and consistently present yourself to others in the way you want them to think about you and know you will they believe that your brand is for real. The third step to creating a powerful personal brand is to sell it. Let everyone you meet know what your brand is by living it and by using it to sell yourself. If your brand is “helpful,” then be helpful every day. If it’s “expert,” then sell your expertise every chance you get.
My mantra for personal branding is: Create. Live. Sell. A brand that you don’t live or sell is simply a plan that isn’t doing anything for you. And if you don’t sell that brand, you’re not recognizing the potential of a personal brand to help you get what you want, need and deserve at work and from life.
3. Because selling yourself is a sales job, it’s a good idea to learn how to sell effectively. The best way to do that is to borrow the most effective skills and strategies from sales professional. Selling yourself is the most important sale you will ever make. Learn how to sell yourself well.
Adam: How can anyone most effectively sell themselves?
Cindy: The best way to sell anything is to fill a need for the person who is in a position to buy. In the sales field, this is called consultative selling. It’s not pushy or manipulative. It’s not dishonest or cheesy. It’s not a brand of sales that tries to convince people to buy what you have to sell just because you have it to sell. It’s a brand of sales that determines if what you have is what the other person wants, needs or could benefit from.
A good sale is a win for you and a win for the person who buys what you’re selling.
The same is true when you sell yourself.
Creating a powerful personal brand means looking inward to identify your values, qualities, skills, expertise and superpowers—the thing you do better than anyone else. Selling that brand involves determining if those characteristics are a good fit for the company you want to work for, the team you want to lead, the person you want to date or the committee you want to join.
In Sell Yourself, I outline my five-step process for selling yourself in a way that’s win-win. The five steps are:
1. Plan. Like most everything in life, you’re more likely to succeed if you make a plan. For a powerful personal brand, you need two plans: a brand plan and a sales plan. Don’t rush into adopting a personal brand. Make sure it’s a good fit for your personality. Know what your goals are and how you need to present yourself to achieve them. List the changes you’ll need to make, the training you’ll need to get and the people who can help you. Be authentic—but stretch yourself. Choose a brand that you can stick with; the best way to sell your brand is to live it consistently every day. Then, plan how you will use that brand to sell yourself to everyone you meet so they can see for themselves that you are ready for whatever you want to go for next.
2. Look for opportunities. Your plan will prepare you to showcase your brand whenever an opportunity arises. Let your personal brand shine through when you happen to find yourself in the airplane seat next to a stranger who can introduce you to people who can help you. Show it off at work by volunteering for projects that will solidify your reputation as a team player or a go-getter, if that’s what you want. Don’t be shy about making your brand who you are and letting everyone know it.
3. Establish trust. People like to buy from people they know, like and trust. Let the people who can help you get ahead know, like and trust you. Let them know what they’ll get out of it if they agree to write a letter of recommendation, hire you for a new job, do you a favor or otherwise “buy” what you’re selling. Living your personal brand consistently will go a long way toward establishing trust because it lets others see that you are who you say you are.
4. Ask for what you want. Don’t assume people know when you want a raise, a promotion, a new job, a project or anything else. Ask them for it. Ask them for help. Ask them for referrals. Ask them for introductions. Make “ask for what I want” part of your brand. If you don’t ask, chances are good that you won’t get.
5. Follow up with gratitude. If someone recommends you for a job, do your best work so you reflect well on them. Keep in touch with those who help you so they’ll know how you’re doing. Thank them for their help. And when someone says “no” to your ask, say “thank you” anyway. You never know when the person’s situation might change, and your brand will fill a future need.
Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of branding and personal branding?
Cindy: Don’t assume you don’t have a brand just because you haven’t created one; powerful brands require three steps: Create. Live. Sell; and using the skills and strategies of the consultative sales pro is the best way to sell yourself—or anything else.
Here are three more tips:
1. Choose a brand that is authentically you. Sure, you can grow into a brand that stretches you outside of your comfort zone. But if it’s too far from your true personality and core values, it will be nearly impossible to live consistently.
2. Constantly ask for feedback. We all have our blind spots. Close friends and trusted colleagues can tell you what’s working for you and what’s not. Use that feedback to continually improve your brand.
3. Rebrand as often as you need to as you enter new phases in your life; change your interests; or find that your brand has got you stuck. Often, your brand is perfect for where you are—but not for where you want to go.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Cindy: A manager looks at what needs to happen today. A true leader sees the big picture and plans for the future. Managers focus on process; leaders focus on people.
My best advice for leaders and aspiring leaders: Just because your job title or even your brand says “leader,” that doesn’t make you one. Live your leadership brand every day. Show up like the leader you want others to see you as.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Cindy: All of them are selling, all day, every day. People whose titles don’t include the word “sales” often believe they do not or do not have to sell. That’s simply not true. Entrepreneurs so often focus on where their expertise is—in their craft—and neglect sales. But selling is the only way to stay in business. The same goes for executives and civic leaders. Every interaction they have with another person is a potential sale. Those who don’t realize that could be selling the wrong thing. An off-hand remark, for example, could “sell” someone on not supporting the business or the cause. But a simple kindness could sell the other person on buying a product, investing in a business, agreeing to a partnership or advocating for a cause.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Cindy: The very best piece of advice I ever received was: “Be nice.” No matter which other qualities your brand elevates, make “nice” a part of it. Everyone responds to nice.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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